Thursday, June 18, 2009

Back In Blue?

Petr Sykora back on the Rangers? Why not?

Sykora thinks that it is time to part with the Pens and, while he is being wooed by the KHL, perhaps Broadway wouldn't be so bad. Sykora made a nice guest appearance here the second half of the first year out of the lockout and had 31 points in 40 games. Last season he scored 46 in 76 but fell out of favour with Dan Bylsma and played just seven playoff games.

He is getting older and a little slower - he is turning 33 this fall - but he is still a solid sniper, especially on the power play where he scored 19 of those 46 points. Sykora could prove to be a cost effective replacement to Markus Naslund. He scored the same amount of points as the Swede but made just $2.5 mill and certainly cannot expect a raise. Perhaps he could provide a veteran presence to help guide, shape and motivate Zherdev, since it seems like we will be stuck with the enigmatic Russian phenom.

The only question I have is would he be able to play in Tortorella's up-tempo attack system or will he be relegated to the press box like he was in the Pens Cup run?

I was thinking about Sykora myself recently & thought that he might be a cheap pickup (compared to the $4M+ UFAs). Think he may need a salary decrease & better not be expecting him to be some sort of savior, like the Rangers expected Naslund to be last season

Too old... Unless we are gonna get an elite foward this free agency... we should pass on sykora knuble and other B players. Its time for our prospects to get a shot.. It not like we are winning the cup next year.. we should build from our youth upwards Reddens drury's gomez's roszival's contracts have handicapped us anyway...

scotty, love the mentor to Zherdev point. I dont think Sykora has it in him to play Tort's system effectively though. Also, though he wouldn't deserve a raise, should we place bets on Sather giving him one anyway? you know....since he likes to give away money and cap space and all...

There was a reason Sykora rode the bench: when he's not scoring, he's pretty worthless. I'm not sure how injured he really was, but when Miro Satan's a reasonable alternative ... it might be time to play in a Euro League.

I am not a fan. How would getting Sykora make us a better team? If we essentially signed Sykora to replace Naslund, that would mean that we would have downgraded twice over one full season, going from Jagr to Naslund to Sykora.

It's time to get a top offensive winger that will hopefully bring Gomez's game up to where we all thought it would be, even if it means trading some of our stockpiled youth.

Slap Shot Quote Of The Week R.I.P. Reg

How do you feel about the DZ deal?

So who am I?

I am Ranger fan and season ticket holder who is more than a little obsessed with hockey. The first thing I can remember is watching a Ranger game with my dad, listening to him yell "Shoot the puck Barry!" I loathe the Islanders, hate everyone else in the Atlantic and despise Mmmaarrrttttyyyy and Cindy. While I am a objective journalist in real life (seriously), this is NOT a media site and is kept quite far from my profession; it is simply an outlet for me to let loose my opinions of the Blueshirts - very distinctly Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. My Ranger rantings and ravings have appeared on (or been linked to) such notable sites as the New York Times, Puck Daddy, Deadspin and NBC's Pro Hockey Talk - and I can't thank them enough. Comments and criticism are always welcome within the boundaries of good taste; feel free to e-mail me at TrueBlueFan329@gmail.com.And you should follow me on Twitter: @ScottyHockey.

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